Politicians and Policy Wonks Attend Ethics Camp. But No S'mores

Politicians have nothing on Ethics Crisis' anonymous ethics confessions. That's why it's refreshing to read that instead of clipboard and whistles, counselors at Ethics and Leadership Camp for politicians and public officials wore "moral compasses" around their necks, in an effort to create "a culture of ethics and accountability," according to Judy Nadler, a former mayor of Santa Clara and a senior fellow at the university's Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, the host and sponsor.

The New York Times reports that the two dozen or so campers — including local city council members and ethics officers from Texas and Arizona — were "a veritable optimists' club."

Dean J. Chu, a council member from nearby Sunnyvale, chose to go to camp "as a continuing reminder of how you should behave." Mr. Chu added, "Unfortunately, the kind of people attending are not the ones who need to."

Next month in Scottsdale, Ariz., the entire workforce of 2,700, from garbage haulers to the mayor, will be trained in a citywide ethics initiative, according to Teri J. Traaen, the city's general manager for human resources and a co-chairwoman of the initiative.

Even Providence, R.I., where Vincent Cianci Jr., former longtime mayor, is serving a federal prison sentence, is working on an ethics code.

"I don't think we've become more unethical," Ms. Traaen said, referring to the ethics crises that pop up daily in the news. "I think we're more candidly talking about it."

On June 27th, the Center kicks off the Character Education Ethics in the K-12 Classroom

23-Jun-2006 By BL Ochman